For being psychedelic mainstays, the Doors are tragically unhip among certain musical circles.

A lot of that has to do with “Hello, I Love You,” a hokey, clumsy pop single released by a band that just the year earlier released two classic albums in the psychedelic canon. It has always been my least favorite Doors single (well…excepting their cover of Backdoor Man).

It is for this reason that I have passed on every copy of this album I have ever seen. But when a friend gave me a box of vinyl to do what I will with, I picked this one aside for a listen. And while it’s certainly a step away from the sprawling psych rock I loved the first two albums for, it’s nowhere near as insufferable as the pastiche pop of The Soft Parade or the think-with-your-dick blues rock of Morrison Hotel.

While Waiting for the Sun draws from a diverse range of influences like flamenco (“Spanish Caravan”) and slave spirituals (“My Wild Love”), it’s definitely a pop record, but an unmistakably 60s pop, sharing kinship with Zombies, Turtles, Beach Boys’ darker material, and the occasional Monkees cousin.

There aren’t any extended opuses a la “The End” or “When The Music’s Over”–the longest song is the howling “Five To One.” In fact, there isn’t much of Jim’s trademark howl on here at all. He takes a more subdued approach here, making more of balladry than bombast. The result is an almost delicate pop record recorded by one of the most fiery groups in rock and roll. Which is actually surprisingly enjoyable.